Enter Book Information Accurately
Complete guide for accurate book information entry. From ISBN search to manual entry and cover image addition.
What is Work Information?
Reading Forest can manage not only books but also movies and music. Work information includes the following fields. The edit form is organized into "Basic Fields" and "Detail Fields", making it easy to get started quickly.
Basic Fields (Always Visible)
- Title (Required) - Work title
- Cover Image - Cover art or poster
- ISBN - Barcode search (books only)
- Rating - Star rating from 1 to 5
- Impression - Brief thoughts
Detail Fields (Expand with "▶ More details")
- Credits - Author, translator, publisher, director, composer, etc. (depending on work type)
- Pages / Runtime - Total pages or playback duration (used for progress tracking)
- Comments - Longer notes
- Target Date - When you want to finish reading (or watching)
- Priority - High, Medium, or Low
Only the title is required. You can add or edit other information later.
For casual use, the basic fields are all you need.
Once you expand "▶ More details", it stays expanded for future edits. If you always use detailed fields, just open it once.
For operations specific to movie and music entries, see the following guides:
- Add a Movie — Director, screenplay, cast credits
- Add Music — Composer, performer, runtime
ISBN Code Search (Books Only - Recommended)
Searching by ISBN code automatically retrieves the book's basic information. This is the easiest and most accurate method.
Movies and music do not have ISBNs. See Add a Movie / Add Music for those.
About ISBN Codes
ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is printed near the barcode on the book's back or spine.
The ISBN is written below the barcode on the book's back cover as "ISBN978-4-...", etc.
Hyphens can be included or omitted when entering.
Barcode Scan (Fastest Method)
On smartphones or PCs with a camera, you can scan the barcode on the back cover to automatically enter the ISBN.
- Add a book and open the edit form
- Tap the button next to the ISBN field
- Point the camera at the barcode on the back cover
- Once recognized, the ISBN is automatically entered
- Tap "Search this ISBN" to automatically retrieve title, author, and other information
If your camera is unavailable, you can select an image file containing a barcode. Use the "Scan from image" tab in the scanner screen.
Manual ISBN Entry
-
Open the "Add Book" dialog
You can open it using any of these methods:- From the menu, select [Edit]→[Add Book]
- Click the button in the toolbar
- Keyboard shortcut Alt+N (same for Mac/Windows)
- In the ISBN code input field, enter the 13 or 10-digit number below the barcode
- Click the "Search" button
- Title, author, page count and other information are automatically filled in
- Review and edit if needed, then click [OK]
If your book shows "ISBN978-4-04-112345-6" on the back cover,
enter "978-4-04-112345-6" or "9784041123456".
Information Automatically Retrieved by ISBN
ISBN search automatically fills in:
- Title
- Author name
- Page count (if available)
- Publisher
- Cover image (if available)
Some older books or publications may not be in the database.
In that case, search by title or enter the information manually.
Enter Information Manually
For works without ISBN, or for movies and music, you can enter information manually.
Field Descriptions
Movie: Director "Hayao Miyazaki", Cast "Rumi Hiiragi"
Music: Composer "Beethoven", Conductor "Karajan"
Movie: "2:04:00" (2 hours 4 minutes)
Music: "5:30" (5 minutes 30 seconds)
Recommended Fields for Manual Entry
You don't need to fill in all fields. For casual use, the basic fields are enough:
- Title (Required)
- Rating (Recommended - quickly capture your impression)
- Impression (Recommended - a brief note)
If you want to track progress in detail, expand "▶ More details" and also enter:
- Credits (Author, director, etc. - helpful for searching)
- Pages / Runtime (Useful for progress tracking)
You can enter minimal information initially and add more detailed information later.
Search by Title
If you know the title, you can search by title. This works for books, movies, and music alike.
Title Search Steps
- Add a work and select the title input field
- Enter the title (partial matches work)
- Click "Search"
- Select the correct work from search results
- Click [OK]
Sometimes multiple works have the same title (new editions, different publishers, etc.).
Check the author name and publisher to select the correct one.
Add Cover Image / Poster
Adding a cover image or poster makes your list more visually appealing and easier to browse. The cover image field in the edit screen offers the following ways to set an image.
Camera Capture / File Selection / Google Images (Recommended)
Tap the button next to the cover image field to open the image source selection screen.
- Choose from files — Select an image saved on your device
- Take a photo — Launch the camera to photograph the cover or poster
- Search on Google Images — Open a Google Image Search with the work's title and author
The selected image is automatically resized. The storage location is determined by your connection status:
| Status | Storage | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Google Drive connected | Google Drive | No impact on file size. Most reliable |
| PC + no Drive | Local folder | Saved alongside rfnote |
| Mobile + no Drive | Inside file (base64) | File size increases. Confirmation dialog shown |
Using Google Image Search
When you select "Search on Google Images", a Google Image Search opens with the book's title and author.
On PC:
- Find a cover image in the search results
- Right-click → "Copy image address"
- Paste the URL into the cover image field
On Mobile:
- Find a cover image in the search results
- Long-press → Select "Download image" or "Save image"
- Return to Reading Forest and tap the button
- Tap "Choose from files"
- Select the saved image to complete the setup
Many mobile browsers don't show a "Copy image address" option, so we recommend downloading the image and using the button to set it.
External image URLs can stop working when the server removes or blocks the image. To keep images reliably, save them to your device and use the button.
Enter URL Directly
You can also type or paste a URL directly into the cover image field. If the image cannot be loaded, an error message with guidance will be shown.
Automatic Broken Link Detection
When a file is opened, external URL cover images are checked in the background. If broken links are found, a toast notification lets you search for replacements or remove the broken URLs.
Cover images saved locally on PC are automatically uploaded to Google Drive when saving the rfnote to Drive. No extra action needed.
For detailed instructions, see the Cover Image Guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I enter multiple authors?
A: There are several ways:
(1) Separate with comma: "Author A, Author B"
(2) Separate with slash: "Author A / Author B"
(3) Enter only the main author
Any method works. Choose what's easiest for you to search later.
Q: I don't know the page count
A: The page field can be left blank. You can add it later.
Page count is located under "▶ More details". Entering it makes tracking reading progress easier.
Q: The book is old and has no ISBN
A: Books without ISBN can be entered manually.
Title and author alone are sufficient.
Q: Is the ISBN for e-books the same as print books?
A: Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
Generally, e-book versions are assigned different ISBNs than print versions.
If you can't find the e-book ISBN, enter the information manually.
Q: How do I distinguish between multiple versions of the same book (new edition, etc.)?
A: Add "new edition" or "2nd edition" to the title for easy distinction.
Example: "Norwegian Wood (New Edition)"
Q: Can I use cover images I find through web search?
A: Generally fine for personal use, but please respect copyright.
We recommend using images from official publisher websites.